moonlight
by wolf12373
Summary: Two Gilneans struggle to make new lives for themselves after the cataclysm.
1. Chapter 1

"Jewel"

I turned to see my father. "Are you coming with us?" I asked.

"No. I'm going to stay. I'm too old to leave. Besides, we've got to get Gilneas back from the Forsaken. But you're young. I want you to go and start a new life were you can be happy."

"Okay, Dad. I'll miss you." I hugged him.

I made my way over to the dock where the rest of the Gilneans who were going to be leaving where waiting. It was strange to see the ocean after so many years away from it. I didn't realize how much I had missed the moist, salty breeze, the sound of the waves breaking on the shore, and the calls of the gulls flying overhead.

Everyone waited in silence. We were all in low spirits. The pride of the Gilneans had been broken. We had been cast out of our own land and made into refugees. The elves from across the sea had offered us refuge, but this did little for most peoples' morale. Gilneas had always been a nation of fiercely independent people. They were not used to the idea of taking charity.

A ship appeared on the horizon and quickly grew larger until it finally pulled up along the dock. The only ships I had seen before were the bulky ones built by humans. This smaller vessel had a shape that was more sleek and efficient. I was surprised at how it glided across the water's surface.

A gangplank was extended onto the dock and several of the elves stepped off. I was stunned at what I saw. The first ones on land were all women. They were beautiful. They had smooth, pale skin. Their ears were long and pointed. They were all thin, but I could tell that they were not frail. They way they moved suggested they possessed much grace and power. These women were obviously warriors. They wore colorful leather armor. In their hands they held strange rounded weapons with radiating blades. They walked with their heads held high as if they had been through many battles and were confident in their abilities.

Without much ado they took us on to the ship and it set sail. It was crowded on the deck of the ship. Kroger and I barely had room to move. The elven guards seemed to be uncomfortable too. I could see them constantly glancing about, keeping their hands close to their weapons.


	2. Chapter 2

"Land ho!" an elven sailor called from the top of one of the masts. All the refugees rushed up to the front of the boat for a look. Off in the distance I could see a mass of land taking shape. As we drew closer I saw that it was dominated by one enormous feature. Was it a mountain? No. It was the trunk of a colossal tree. It was like something out of a dream. How could any tree grow so large?

The boat pulled up to the dock and I disembarked with the rest of the Gilneans. The soldiers were obviously relieved to finally have us off their boat.

We were then approached by another group of Elven women. They were all like the soldiers on the boat except for one. She wore a long white robe instead of the colored armor. But that was not all that made her stand out. The soldiers' eyes kept darting about and they stood stiffly with their hands near their weapons. Their faces were drawn in tight looks of worry. The woman in the white was nothing like this. She stood in a relaxed pose that somehow still radiated power and authority. Her face had a smile of childlike joy on it. She slowly moved the gaze of her bright eyes from the face of one Gilnean to another as if she was trying to commit each one to memory. The stress, worry, and uncertainty of losing my home and coming to a strange new land melted away when she looked at me.

After scanning the crowd like this, the woman delivered a speech: "People of Gilneas, I welcome all of you to Auberdine. My name is Tryande Whisperwind. I am high priestess of my people. It is not by coincidence that you have come here." Her voice was somehow gentle and powerful at once. "Long ago my people practiced magic they could not control. This led to the spread of the curse that has afflicted many of you. It also led to the creation of the Scythe of Elune. This is the artifact which the forsaken covet and have invaded your land for. These events have caused your people much suffering" She did not shout, yet her words easily carried to everyone. "But good can often be found in tragedy if one is willing to look for it. These events have brought our peoples together, which I see as a great fortune. I am sure we can learn much from each other. Also, together we will be able to stand against the forces that have come to threaten this world and everything we hold dear in it" Her voice was soothing, but at the same time fired my spirit and filled me with hope.

After Tryande had spoken she led us into her city, which was actually built upon the giant tree trunk. It was magnificent. I was amazed at how much of the city was built to exist in harmony with the natural world around it rather than dominate it. Many of the structures were carved right out of trees. A network of streams and ponds ran throughout. Deer and other wild animals roamed freely and grazed on all kinds of colorful plants. This truly was the magical place that I had read about in the books.

The city only had a few artificial structures. These were built from smooth white stone covered with vines. The largest one had thick pillars and a dome roof. I thought that it must have been their government building or something similar.

The soldiers then separated us into groups that they lead off in different directions. As we walked we passed by elven people going about their business. They were selling fresh fruit, forging weapons, and engaging in other trade activities. A few smiled as we passed, but many looked away or eyed us warily. I realized that even though their leader Tryande had welcomed us with open arms, it would be some time before her people accepted us completely.

We were then shown to a wooden building with beds inside. The soldiers left us to get settled in. Everyone sat down on the beds and began unpacking what few possessions they had been able to take with them. I opened my backpack and emptied it out on my bed. I had the leather ball my father had made, my comb, a few stale muffins, and my mother's wedding ring.

Seeing these things made me realize how much I missed my life in Gilneas. I felt tears starting to pool up in my eyes. I wished my mother was there with me. Whenever I was hurt or sad as a little girl she would hold me against her while I cried and cried. She never minded the tears and snot that I stained her blouse with. But I had found her dead in her bedroom the day before my father joined the rebellion.


	3. Chapter 3

My father appeared in the doorway. "How is your mother?"

The anguish I had felt earlier had been covered by a sort of numbness. "She's dead," I replied without looking up.

"I'll miss her," was all he said. I imagined he was too exhausted at that moment to feel much. He sat down on the bed next to me. "I have been talking with a lot of people. We are all tired of being caged in our own city like wild animals. It's time the king answers for what he has done"

I could not sleep that night and instead laid on my back looking up into the darkness. How had everything gone so terribly wrong? Greymane had always seemed like an honorable man who cared about his people. But then he had condemned all of us to a miserable existence of suffering. It just did not make any sense.

The next morning Father and I took care of Mother's body. We did not have time for a proper burial. Instead we broke up the last of the wood furniture and stacked it up in the fireplace. We put Mother on top of the stack and lit it.

While we watched the flames take her, her passing finally hit my father. His eyes started to grow watery. That was the first time I had ever seen him cry. I hugged him. We held each other and watched my mother's body become nothing but smoke. Smoke that floated up through the chimney and blew away in the wind. I imagined it soaring away from Gilneas and all its problems, to the Redridge Mountains where she had always wanted to vacation.

"Excuse me"

I looked up to see Tryande, the leader of the Elves standing over me. I wondered why she wanted to speak with me. For a moment I thought that I was in trouble for something, but her smile quickly put me at ease. "I hope that you are finding your accommodations comfortable" I nodded. "What is your name?" I told her. "I came to ask you something, Jewel. When we met earlier I saw the light of Elune in you"

"What's Elune?"

"Why don't you come to the temple tomorrow night and I can show you"

After Tryande left I tried to sleep, but could not. I was just too restless, like some of the other Gilneans that I heard shifting around on their beds. Many of us were still too worked up over the day's events.

Kroger was one of the few who had managed to drift off to sleep right away. I heard him slowly breathing in and out near me. I found it to comforting and lost track of time just listening.

But at some point his breathing changed to rapid gasps. In the dim light I could just barely see him trashing about under the covers. He bolted upright and sat there panting.

I sat down next to him. "Are you all right? Did you have a bad dream?"

"I remember what I did," he managed.

"What do you mean?"

"When I got changed. What I did to those people. All the blood. It was sweet like honey"

I did not know what else to do so I just held him in my arms. I thought about the happier times we had enjoyed together before the wall was constructed and Gilneas withered like a plant locked in a closet.


	4. Chapter 4

I was sitting on one of the tables in the kitchen down in the basement. I had been studying in the library, but I needed a break. Coming down here and talking to Sergeant Meyer always helped clear my head. The sergeant had served in the army, but had to retire after being wounded in battle. He had moved to Gilneas and my father hired him as our cook.

At that moment he was preparing a stew. He had just started, but it was already starting to smell delicious.

"Smells good." I startled and looked to see Kroger standing there.

"How did you get in? I locked all the doors"

He just shrugged and hopped up onto the table next to me. Sergeant Meyer and Kroger nodded to each other. The sergeant was the only other person besides Aunt Lilly who knew about Kroger.

"Good," Mr. Meyer began, "You're just in time to hear one of my famous stories" The sergeant loved to tell stories about his time in the Alliance army. They were likely exaggerated, but that just made them more entertaining. "Did I ever tell you about how I fought in the battle of Black Rock Mountain?"

"Probably"

He waved a hand dismissively at me as he stirred the pot and continued. "We had those filthy green skinned Orcs holed up nice in the mountain. I thought we had them bottled up so tight they would never dare try to come out. I should have known better. Orcs are never afraid to die." I thought I had heard this tale before, but listened anyway. He always changed the details slightly, which made it worth hearing again. For some reason I found the sergeant's gruesome tales fascinating. I saw Kroger listening intently as well. "I heard their war cries echoing off the peaks and looked up to see them pouring down the side of the mountain towards us like an avalanche. We had them outnumbered, but that didn't matter one bit. One Orc could butcher ten men without hardly trying. One of them came after me with an axe bigger than myself. He tried to cut me in two, but I ducked and thrust my sword at him, like this!" the sergeant was now completely into his story. He dodged this way and that and lashed out with an imaginary sword while shouting curses. Then one of his flailing strikes meant to decapitate an orc instead knocked over a jar of flour. He stopped and stood there awkwardly. No one spoke. Then I felt myself start to giggle. The next moment I burst out laughing and fell over on the table. The sergeant and Kroger were laughing just as hard.

"Well," the sergeant said, regaining his composure, "Since you two are here causing so much trouble, might as well make yourselves useful." He hobbled over to the pantry and tossed Kroger and I each a sack of onions. I took a knife and made one slow, deliberate cut after another. I saw Kroger leaning over his onions with his tongue stuck out to the side of his mouth in concentration. Then the knife became a blur. The blade seemed to be everywhere at once as it laid waste to the unsuspecting vegetables, slicing through them again and again. Kroger stopped and let out a breath. The onions were now in uniform pieces, stacked into tidy piles. "Show off," the sergeant grunted.

I suddenly heard the door at the top of the stairs open. My parents were home early. I turned to warn Kroger, but he was already gone.

The next thing I remembered was being awakened by sunlight on my face. I sat up and saw Kroger sprawled out on the bed next to me. I got dressed and left our building. The city was eerily quiet. All the shops were closed and I saw none of the elves except for a few of the women soldiers on patrol. What happened to everyone? Then I remembered reading somewhere that these people were known as the Night Elves. This was because they were nocturnal.

That evening I made my way to the temple which was the large stone structure I had noticed the day before. As soon as I entered I felt a sense of calm come over me. All of my worries faded away and I felt at peace. Tryande was there to meet me.

"I'm glad you could make it," she said. She led me over to a small fountain and we sat down on the side together. "Are you ready to begin?" she asked. I nodded. She took my hands in hers and asked me to clear my mind. I closed my eyes and relaxed the way I did when I prayed to The Light.

Gradually I began to feel something. It was like what I felt from The Light, but different. It was a cool, refreshing feeling like standing in an ocean breeze under the light of the full moon. It was wonderful and mysterious. I wanted to take hold of this feeling. I reached out with my mind, but it slipped through my clumsy grasp. I felt myself falling away, and then I was back in the temple with Tryande. I was breathing hard and my hands were shaking. Tryande put a reassuring hand on my back and whispered to me in her soothing voice. As my body slowed back to normal I glanced up at her and saw her giving me an approving look.


	5. Chapter 5

3

I began visiting the temple every night to receive training from Tryande. She found a small private residence for Kroger and me so I could be closer to the temple. She taught me all about the moon goddess Elune that her people worshipped. I found that communing with her was similar to being in touch with The Light, but that did not mean it was easy. In the beginning I was so inept. Tryande was eternally patient, though. Whenever I messed up a phrase or gesture for a spell she would just correct me and urge me to keep trying. Tryande also provided me with some martial training as well. I found out that the strange circular weapon the elves preferred was called a moonglaive, and I learned to use one. I was so awkward with the weapon at first I was embarrassed just to hold it. But with Tryande's guidance it soon became an extension of myself. I could swing it around effortlessly and strike one target after another.

At the same time I learned from Kroger that he had enlisted in the military. So as the sun was setting every evening we would head our separate ways. Then we would not see each other again until we returned to our home when the sky was just beginning to lighten. We were both always exhausted and had little energy for conversation. We usually just sat together for a short time in silence before falling asleep. We had been forced to abandon our home, move to a strange land, and work harder than we ever had, but we were happier than we had ever been. It also occurred to me that though Kroger and I saw little of each other, we were growing closer every day.

One early morning Kroger burst into our home. He kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other and fidgeting with his hands.

"What is it, Kroger?" I asked.

"You'll never guess what, Babe," he beamed, "I got made a scout. I'm going to The Barrens. I'm gonna fight the Orcs"

"That's great." I said this with as much enthusiasm as I could. I was happy for Kroger, but it was difficult. Not only because I could barely keep my eyes open, but also because this meant that he would be leaving me.

"Check me out," he continued, "don't I look spiffy?" He was dressed in dark grey leather armor that fit him perfectly. He had matching gloves and boots too. He slowly turned about so I could see him from every side. "And look what else I got" He took out a large dagger and handed it to me. The handle was smooth, dark maple with an image of a crescent moon carved near the top. The blade was so polished I could see my reflection in it. Despite the weapon's size, it weighed practically nothing. It was another example of the elves' refined craftsmanship. But this was more than elegant, it was also deadly. In Kroger's hand it would have no trouble shredding flesh like lettuce. I hoped he would never have to use it. I suppressed a shudder at the thought of him killing again.

"When do you leave?" I wondered out loud.

"Tomorrow night. You're gonna come, right?"

"Of course"

The next night I went to see Kroger off. Dozens of the new soldiers were milling about on the dock. Most of them were elves, but I could also see some humans, dwarfs, gnomes, and people with blue skin and short tails. Many of them had friends and family who had come to wish them well. I made my way through the crowd until I saw Kroger. He looked so proud standing there wearing his armor and Darnassus tabard over it. He broke into a huge grin when he saw me approach.

"Babe, you came"

"I wouldn't miss this for anything. I'm so proud of you"

We stood there in silence, just enjoying the last of our time together. Then the captain of the ship called out for boarding. I threw myself around Kroger and squeezed as hard as I could. "I'm going to miss you so much"

"Yeah, same thing," he wheezed.

"Sorry." I was still not used to all the extra strength I had gained from my training. I never thought I would be quoting Aunt Lilly, but I could not help myself. "Promise me you'll be careful"

"Sure, Babe"

He then joined the rest of the new soldiers on the boat. The gangplank was removed, the ropes were untied, and the sails were raised. The boat began gliding away from the shore. I watched it shrink until it disappeared below the horizon. That was it. Kroger was gone. I wondered if I would ever see him again. I thought back to one of the last nights we had enjoyed in Gilneas together.

As the minutes passed I started to worry that he might have forgotten. Then I heard snickering above me and looked up to see Kroger hanging upside down from a rooftop gutter. "Hey, babe," he said with a little wave. He dropped down and landed in a crouched position. Then he came over to me and held out a hand. "Ready for your tour of the city?"

"Of course."

He led me over to a drainpipe against a wall. Then he had me drape my arms over his shoulders and wrap my legs around his waist. My tour guide then leapt up onto the pipe and started climbing. "You don't weigh nothing," he grunted, "you should eat more." I didn't say anything. I was too busy enjoying the feeling of my body against his.

We lay down on our backs next to each other and gazed up at the moon. For a long time neither of us spoke.

"I really like you," Kroger said.

"I know. I like you too"

"I brung you something"

"You brought me something? What is it?"

He took out a ring with a giant gemstone. The moonlight struck the rock and exploded into a million blue rays. It was beautiful. I wanted it, but knew it was stolen. "Kroger, you know I can't take accept that. You have to give it back"

Kroger hung his head down. "I thought it would make you happy"

I put my arm over his shoulder. "I don't need things to be happy. Being with you is what makes me happy"

A few days later I learned that I was being shipped out too. I would be traveling to the Eastern Plaugelands. The chapel there was in need of priests and priestesses, and Tryande had recommended me for a position. I was happy for a chance to put all my training to use, though I was sad at the same time. Auberdine had become my home. I was going to miss it. The sails caught a wind and Auberdine began to slip away.

**The End**


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